2001: A Space Odyssey

[bigbadwoppet]

Will we ever get to see the original premiere cut released on blu-ray now the deleted scenes were found? Not as a standalone release but I think a film as important deserves to be made available in this earlier incarnation for historical purposes at the very least.

[jh901]

Have there been any rumors regarding a 8k remastering from the original 70mm?

[MacEachaidh]

Originally Posted by bigbadwoppet

Will we ever get to see the original premiere cut released on blu-ray now the deleted scenes were found? Not as a standalone release but I think a film as important deserves to be made available in this earlier incarnation for historical purposes at the very least.

Yeah, I've wondered that too.

Reports I've read suggest that the cuts made were actually Kubrick's voluntary choices, once he'd seen the film play in front of an audience, and not necessarily as a response to audience feedback. If that's the case (and I don't know for certain myself, but if) then I guess we'd have to consider the version we currently have the definitive director's cut.

No doubt we'd all like at least to see the cut footage in some way, though.

But I wonder how much we can hope for. The current Blu-ray release has been languishing in discount bins since before I started buying Blu-rays. Do films lin that position ever climb back up to re-release status? I'm not sure.

[pagemaster]

Originally Posted by MacEachaidh

The current Blu-ray release has been languishing in discount bins since before I started buying Blu-rays. Do films lin that position ever climb back up to re-release status? I'm not sure.

I doubt 2001 has much of a chance at demanding a re-release even if the release was made with the original 70mm neg.

Lawrence of Arabia is so discounted at this point it. 70mm is really great when it comes to cinemas, but most people do not care about 70mm for home video. I personally do but I would still rather see it in person in real 70mm.

By the way, where abouts do you live? About 100 miles from there are 70mm screenings of 2001 from time to time.

[blonde_devil]

Originally Posted by MacEachaidh

Yeah, I've wondered that too.

Reports I've read suggest that the cuts made were actually Kubrick's voluntary choices, once he'd seen the film play in front of an audience, and not necessarily as a response to audience feedback. If that's the case (and I don't know for certain myself, but if) then I guess we'd have to consider the version we currently have the definitive director's cut.

No doubt we'd all like at least to see the cut footage in some way, though.

But I wonder how much we can hope for. The current Blu-ray release has been languishing in discount bins since before I started buying Blu-rays. Do films lin that position ever climb back up to re-release status? I'm not sure.

from what I understand, no. He has final cut on this film and his estate won't sign-off on it. so pretty much what we see is what he wanted us to see.

[HD Goofnut]

Originally Posted by pagemaster

I doubt 2001 has much of a chance at demanding a re-release even if the release was made with the original 70mm neg.

Lawrence of Arabia is so discounted at this point it. 70mm is really great when it comes to cinemas, but most people do not care about 70mm for home video. I personally do but I would still rather see it in person in real 70mm.

By the way, where abouts do you live? About 100 miles from there are 70mm screenings of 2001 from time to time.

It wouldn't matter if they are 8K masters done from the 70mm elements unless there's a way to play them at home, which would mean 8K displays. They're coming, but it will be a few years. At that point I would like every 70mm film to be given a new master taken from the best 70mm source available. Seeing 2001, Patton, Lawrence of Arabia, and Ben-Hur in its native resolution would be glorious.

[MacEachaidh]

Originally Posted by pagemaster

By the way, where abouts do you live? About 100 miles from there are 70mm screenings of 2001 from time to time.

Originally Posted by HD Goofnut

Seeing 2001, Patton, Lawrence of Arabia, and Ben-Hur in its native resolution would be glorious.

I live in Sydney, Australia. I'm lucky that there's one cinema here, at least, that's been refurbished (in a vintage style) but still retains a proper 70mm screen, and has showings of classics quite regularly. In the last year I've seen 2001, Lawrence of Arabia and Ben-Hur back up on the big screen, the latter two in new prints made from the digital remasters. And yeah, Goofnut, they were glorious!

To my eye, 2001 still holds up comparatively well with its existing transfer, but I credit Kubrick and his startling clarity of the original image for that. I'm sure if we saw a proper rescan and remaster from high-grade elements, we'd be shocked at what we'd forgotten about the image of this film over the years.

[Fabiosugitani]

What would've been the smallest screen size able to reproduce 8K?
Is it physically possible to fit in a 60" without losing pixels?

[blonde_devil]

this is one that i haven't been able to see yet in theatre and really want to. some theatres here in Canada are running classic movies a couple times a month - hopefully it will appear on their fall schedule.

[surfdude12]

From Wikipedia:

According to Kubrick biographer Jan Harlan, the director was adamant the trims were never to be seen, and that he "even burned the negatives"—which he had kept in his garage—shortly before his death. This is confirmed by former Kubrick assistant Leon Vitali: "I'll tell you right now, okay, on Clockwork Orange, The Shining, Barry Lyndon, some little parts of 2001, we had thousands of cans of negative outtakes and print, which we had stored in an area at his house where we worked out of, which he personally supervised the loading of it to a truck and then I went down to a big industrial waste lot and burned it. That's what he wanted."[

[retablo]

Originally Posted by surfdude12

From Wikipedia:

According to Kubrick biographer Jan Harlan, the director was adamant the trims were never to be seen, and that he "even burned the negatives"—which he had kept in his garage—shortly before his death. This is confirmed by former Kubrick assistant Leon Vitali: "I'll tell you right now, okay, on Clockwork Orange, The Shining, Barry Lyndon, some little parts of 2001, we had thousands of cans of negative outtakes and print, which we had stored in an area at his house where we worked out of, which he personally supervised the loading of it to a truck and then I went down to a big industrial waste lot and burned it. That's what he wanted."[

He also never wanted Fear & Desire to be released, but it was after his death, and people bought it regardless to his wishes.

[Arkadin]

well I certainly hope 2001 receives a newer release sometime in the future, and I would be shocked if it didn't. It is one of Warner's most valuable properties and, of course, has received numerous releases over the years.

[surfdude12]

Originally Posted by retablo

He also never wanted Fear & Desire to be released, but it was after his death, and people bought it regardless to his wishes.

IMO, his wishes didn't die with his body.

I don't look down on anyone who wants to see these trimmed scenes.
I just personally choose not to see them. I view them the same as fat
trimmings that a chef cut off a steak & tossed away. The steak tastes
yummy as it is & as chef intended - no need to dig up the tossed trimmings

[MacEachaidh]

Originally Posted by surfdude12

I don't look down on anyone who wants to see these trimmed scenes. I just personally choose not to see them. I view them the same as fat trimmings that a chef cut off a steak & tossed away. The steak tastes yummy as it is & as chef intended - no need to dig up the tossed trimmings

Hmmm, I think a better analogy would be a chef who prepared a dinner made up of several courses, but at the last minute decided the meal would be better or more balanced without one of them. It doesn't diminish the meal as presented to also wonder how the unserved dish might have tasted.

Kubrick may have decided he preferred his film with certain shots or scenes removed, but at some point they were what he chose to film and were intended as part of his gourmet meal. They weren't just bits of fat.

[eddievanhalen]

Native 70mm shot films properly transfered to Blu ray show, it was 5 or10 minutes I was watching (I received that very same day) Ice Station Zebra, and I had my computer beside me and I thought "wait, wait, that level of detail from a 1968 fil, let's go to the Internet Data Base". Bingo! it was shot to 70mm, and it shows, a lot.

[Sherlock_Jr]

Originally Posted by eddievanhalen

Native 70mm shot films properly transfered to Blu ray show, it was 5 or10 minutes I was watching (I received that very same day) Ice Station Zebra, and I had my computer beside me and I thought "wait, wait, that level of detail from a 1968 fil, let's go to the Internet Data Base". Bingo! it was shot to 70mm, and it shows, a lot.

True, but only if native 70mm negatives are used in the scans for the master. Criterion's OOP disc of Playtime was shot in 70mm, but the blu-ray used a 35mm reduction internegative made from the restored 65mm interpositive. If the actual 65mm interpositive had been used, you'd see much more of a difference.

[eddievanhalen]

Originally Posted by Sherlock_Jr

True, but only if native 70mm negatives are used in the scans for the master. Criterion's OOP disc of Playtime was shot in 70mm, but the blu-ray used a 35mm reduction internegative made from the restored 65mm interpositive. If the actual 65mm interpositive had been used, you'd see much more of a difference.

I agree with you, when I bought and saw the Universal's release (wich was hot to 70mm), picture was good for a 70's film, but I don't think it was scanned from a 70mm film master, it doesn't have that fine level of detail (even if it was shot mostly at night and at stages) and that very thinck of grain structure most 70mm filmed have. I guess they used a 35mm production copy for this one.

[widescreenforever]

I have over the years thru video bought all the various media types of 2001 since the first MGM gated cardboard sleeve for the VHS cassette back in 1980....( $105.00) - Pan and scan/ mono thru to letter boxing thu to 5.1 audio & anamorphic widescreen ..

One thing I do remember from my white sleeved 1997 Stanley Kubrick Collection series of 2001 was just seconds 'after ' the rising / falling of the ' bone ' to the 'weapons' satellite sequence there was a major white splice-cut on the right side of the frame 1.5 seconds into this sequence .. This is not visible on my blue ray of 2001 from 2007.. leading me to believe the upgrade to 8k for the blue also allowed the team to fix these tears and worn glitches from the original master ...